Ex-Rams WR Bailey works out for scouts, eyes NFL return

03/08/2018 14:28

Nearly two and a half years after he was shot twice in the head, former NFL
wide receiver Stedman Bailey worked out for scouts at Marshall University's
pro day on Wednesday with the hope of getting another chance in the league.

Bailey, 27, also plans to work out at the pro day of West Virginia, his alma
mater, on March 29.

"I know a lot of teams probably remember me and what type of player I was at
the time," Bailey told the Huntington Herald-Dispatch. "I'm trying to prove
that I am still that guy and probably even better. It's all about proving it
and capitalizing on the opportunities that are given to me."

A college star who caught 25 touchdowns as a junior for the Mountaineers,
Bailey was drafted in the third round in 2013 by the then-St. Louis Rams.
Through two and a half NFL seasons, he caught 59 passes for 843 yards and two
scores in 38 games (eight starts).

On Nov. 24, 2015, Bailey was shot twice in the head while he was a passenger
in a car stopped outside a residence in Miami Gardens, Fla. He went to the
hospital in critical condition and was told his football career was over.

"I never had a doubt in my mind that I'd be able to play again," Bailey told
the Herald-Dispatch. "It kind of hurt with reports from doctors that I may not
be able to walk or I may have trouble speaking again. Me, just being a
positive person that I am, I just waved those reports off like, ‘OK, we'll
see.' I set it in my mind to show them differently.

"That incident happened in November 2015 and, five months later, I was on the
field running routes and feeling good."

Bailey added that he had a plate inserted into his head in an October surgery,
strengthening him against the hard hits he would face if he does indeed return
to the NFL.